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Hellcat Squadran: Lit Fuse
Hellcat Squadran: Lit Fuse is a tandem story between User:IceBite and User:Odst grievous, involving User:IceBite's character Elle Urec and User:Odst grievous's character Sean Renner. The story takes place in 2191, a year after Hellcat Squadran: Almost Easy and a few months after Hellcat Squadran: The Final Countdown. Chapter 1: Alone in the Woods Sean put the venison in his mouth and chewed. It had been over a week since he'd eaten deer. He was on one of his month long hunts in the woods. Whenever he seriously needed to clear his head, he'd go out into the forests and hunt to survive for a full month before returning to Kaven Base. No use of the force, no lightsaber use. Just him, his thoughts, and his crossbow. It was the last night before he would return to base, and he looked forward to returning. The only thing he didn't like was how Sasha had recruited his ex-girlfriend, Andrea, into their Task Force. It made for very awkward moments. He gazed into the fire he had made. It was around eleven at night, so he would need to go to sleep soon. He pondered about his career. He was helping to run a good force of individuals, had a good career record, he was friends with many other Squadran members, and was respected throughout the Coalition as it's best user of the crossbow. In his mind, he was only missing one thing to make his life all the more better. He was lonely. It wasn't something he'd admit to anybody, but he felt alone. Beyond his slightly renegade behavior in the field and even out of it, there was a guy in him who was alone and really just wanted someone to be with. His only problem there was that he was very selective, and only really desired one person in his life. An involuntary smile crossed his face at the thought of Elle. After the last time Nes Ceru had come out of hiding, and Sean and almost been killed by the terrorist to save Elle, he couldn't help but start feeling an attraction towards her. Sure, he'd been permanently scarred because he was protecting her, but that really didn't matter to him. He finished eating his venison dinner and drank his flask of water. He pulled his survival blanket around himself and watched the fire burn itself out. It reminded him of his sister once a month. She'd flare up for a day or two and then die down and return to normal. He shook his head at the reference his mind made and grabbed his crossbow, loaded an arrow and held it beneath his blanket, just to be safe, with his finger off the trigger so he wouldn't shoot it in his sleep. He shut his eyes and slowly fell asleep. A burning sensation that went across his back. His skin was white hot for a brief, almost nonexistent moment, and then he hit the ground hard, his face smashing against the stone ground. He painfully pulled his head up and saw Ceru advancing on the downed Elle. Desperately, he raised his hand and blasted him aside. He agonizingly pulled himself up, his back feeling like it was going to fall apart, and stumbled toward Nes, attacking him again. Then, the very same white hot feeling, only slower, moved across his arms and collarbone. Then, he blacked out, and everything was gone. Sean sat upright, involuntarily raising and aiming his crossbow. It was dawn, and he had a long walk back to base. He stood up, rolled his blanket and fit it into his quiver along with his arrows, checked the fire pit, just to be safe, and then began walking. In an hour, he arrived by a stream. He filled his water flask and looked around. Noticed a squirrel, he raised the crossbow and shot it. He ran over to the now dead animal and quickly cut it open. The last day was always the worst, as he didn't have time to cook his meals, so he had to eat the squirrel organs raw. Admittedly, they weren't too bad, but were better cooked. After his small meal, he kept walking. As he slowly navigated the forest terrain, his mind wandered. He was deep in thought about what may have happened to the Task Force while he was away when he walked into a spiderweb. He cursed and picked it all off his face, annoyed. He reflected it was a good thing that he was not arachnophobic. After cleaning the webbing out of his hair, mouth, nose, and one of his ears, he kept going. He hopped over a log and landed on a rock. To his terror, he disturbed a snake that he recognized was poisonous. "Ah shit." He said and shot it quickly. He put the dead snake against the rock, cut it open and ate the edible parts. Something he had learned was that if you were in the wild hunting for food, you ate whenever you could and ate as much as possible. The only real downside to these trips was that taking a shit was always really awkward. He always brought a shovel to dig a hole in the ground and marked the spots with a stick so he'd know where to avoid. He ate the snake's parts and kept moving. He walked for another three hours and then stopped for a rest. He sat on an old tree stump and became lost in thought again. He had to admit, every time after he started being attracted to Elle he hoped she would be waiting for him just outside the base and come running over when she saw him walking down the road. His better judgement told him not to get his hopes up, but he really just couldn't help himself. He got up and began walking, now remembering the Leandra had locked him in the basement one time Elle was visiting the Boondock HQ and began telling stories Sean would really prefer were left dead and buried about him. He shook his head, remembering how mortified he'd been that day. Then, he heard a twig snap. He perked up and looked around without moving his head. He immediately noticed the man approaching quietly with a silenced gun. Moving fast, Sean had the man in his sights and, knowing he was here to kill him, shot him through the leg. He was always targeted, this guy was the fifth this trip. At the beginning of this trip, he'd decided he'd never tell Elle about the assassins who were sent after him on these trips. He walked over and kicked the man's gun away. "I can lay you out and fill your mouth with your mother's feces, or we can talk." He said calmly. The man crunched something in his mouth and was dead in seconds. Sean shook his head, grabbed his arrow and kept walking. After a few more hours, he stopped, shot another squirrel, and quickly ate it's edible organs. He wiped his face with a wet leaf, drank some more of his flask, and kept walking. He finally made it to the road, about four miles away from the base's main gate. He sighed in a relieved way and began slowly walking down the path. As he walked, a truck filled with Squadran troops on shore leave came driving down the highway. They stopped next to him. "Hey, Redneck jedi! How was the hunt!" The driver said. "Pretty good. Enjoying shore leave?" He asked the man. "Hell yeah we are! You need a lift back to base at all?" Sean shook his head. "Nah, it'd be a waste of gas for you." The man nodded, said goodbye, and drove off. Sean kept walking, relieved in a way to be back. Chapter 2: The Signs Elle leapt backwards, dodging the energy blast launched by her opponent. "This time, your defeat will be forever!" the opponent taunted. Elle dodged another energy blast, and, using the Force to aid her, she jumped up the wall and balanced herself on top of a tall, thin, wooden rod. From where she was, she was just out of range of her opponent's energy blasts, but she had to concentrate intently on using the Force to aid her balance, or she'd plummet to the ground. Suddenly, the opponent transformed and lifted off the ground. Seeing it coming towards her, she leapt towards the wall, and, with the wall being at a small angle, slid down it, passing her opponent by. Once she was on the ground again, she equipped and ignited her lightsaber. From the air, her opposition fired more energy bursts. Elle was able to deflect some of the attacks while dodging others. Finally, she found an opening: she pulled out one of the Disc Blades her mother made for her and flung it at the opponent. She sliced the opponent's head off, and she used the Force to bring the Disc Blade back to her. The opponent crashed, its head spewing, "This...This...This time..." then, its voice distorted as it said, "your defeat...wiiilllll...beeeeeeee...forrrrreeeeeevvvvvvvvveeeeeeeeerrrrrrrrr..." Finally, she had a chance to think. What came to her mind was her life over the past few years. Things had been hard ever since Nes Ceru made himself known. However, 2 individuals made things easier for her: first was her mother, Holly Lund-Urec. The second...was Sean Renner. Something about him made her feel more...open. Gentle as she was, she was not very open with many individuals. However, when with Sean, something inside her just felt...right. She remembered the Luray Caverns incident the previous year. When she was defeated by Nes Ceru, Sean came to her aid. Even though he couldn't beat Nes, something about the fact that he came to her aid earned her trust. Also, the time they spent together beforehand, and that she spent with him afterwards, made her feel a sort of attraction to him. Realizing she had to finish her training, she readied for the next opponent. However, once the Sentinels had cleaned up her previous opponent, an Enforcers of Tren Krom Robot designed after some dead Dark Hunter, no opponent appeared. Suddenly, a voice spoke over the intercom. "Hey, sorry I just had to cancel the next opponent. However, I think you'd be interested that Sean's on his way back to the base. He's just been spotted exiting the tree-line near Railgun Cannon A-6. I'd think you'd be interested in meeting up with him." The person speaking was IceBite. Elle deactivated her lightsaber, and, putting her weapons away, she rushed for the exit. ---- Sean approached the base, just passing its defensive Railgun Cannons. Beyond the treeline is barely any trees, but he still saw one or two every few hundred feet. As he approached the base, he saw a door open and saw a welcome sight. Elle exited the door, and rushed over to her. "Sean, you're back!" Sean, seeming surprised, responded, "Hi there." Elle then asked, "So, how'd it go?" Sean responded to her, "Pretty good. Less deer and more fish the usual." He then asked her, "What about you, what'd I miss?" Elle responded, "Nothing much, been training most of the time..." Suddenly, she remembered something. "Oh yeah, that's right, I found out I can manipulate more than just the Force." Sean seemed a little surprised by this. "What'd you get now?" he asked. Elle responded, "Turns out I can manipulate Aura Powers." Sean seemed slightly surprised by this. He asked, "How did that go?" Elle just shrugged. "I'm not sure, really. Somehow, my vision went wierd, surrounding mom in a bluish flame-like...aura. When I told her, she compared it to the Aura Sense ability of Hellcat Squadran's Tank Commander. I went to him about it, and he showed me a few other powers. Now I can use Aura Sense and Aura Sphere." Then, she seemed a little excited, something that, until today it seemed, was unusual for her. "Wanna see my Aura Sphere ability?" Sean seemed ok with it "Go for it. Just don't hit me, I haven't eaten anything from a kitchen in a month." Elle then said to herself, "Ok." She took a deep breath, then brought her hands back, forming a bluish orb between them. The orb kept swirling and growing. Soon, it was the diameter of a beach ball. Finally, she removed one hand from the glowing orb of Aura Energy, and, aiming at one of the trees dotting the landscape, she threw it. The Aura Sphere seemed to weave around obstacles and aim itself at the tree. When it struck, it blew the tree out from under itself with such force, the canopy of the tree struck its own stump. Sean seemed rather impressed. Then, he joked, "Remind me never to get you pissed at me, ok?" Elle seemed to giggle at that...something that she's never done around many people before, Sean knew for sure. Sean immediately began to think, What the...? Is that a sign? His hopes briefly go up, before he thinks he's being an idiot hoping. However, he knew something was going on. Then, Elle seemed to remember something. "Oh, yeah, Toas Onua and Kopaka wanted to talk to you. They didn't say what. So...see you later?" "Sure," Sean responded, "I'll probably come by later." "Ok," Elle said, a hint of happiness in her voice. "I have to go back to training. I was in the middle of a session when you got back. I'll see you later." Then, she ran off, to return to her training, while Sean decided to see what Kopaka and Onua wanted with him. Chapter 3: Ex Girlfriend's Are Evil Sean went and spoke to Kopaka first. "Hey, Iceman." He said. "Funny." Kopaka said frostily. "So, what'd you want to talk to me about. "As much as I hate to admit it, the security system on my team's house is malfunctioning, and we can't reach the circuit. Can you help with that. Sean nodded and followed him to the house. After spending almost an hour sneaking by a few automated turrets, Sean was able to fix the house's security system. Then he went down to speak to Onua. "Hello, boy." "Hey. What do you need?" "Just something you may be interested in. Nes Ceru appears to be focusing many of his movements around a star cluster outside of our own." "You're saying he's left the Milky Way?" "Yes. After that, his actions are largely unknown." "Ok, thanks. That is good to know." Sean said and left. He went and found his sister and his soldiers in the HQ for Boondock. As he entered, he saw Sasha holding Daryl in a headlock. He probably ran his mouth again. "Oh, hey Sean." Sasha called. "Hi, what'd he do now?" "Don't ask." She said. He then noticed Andrea waving him over. He cautiously walked over. "So, you hit Elle yet? "You're evil, you know that?" He answered. "No, just curious. I'm guessing that's a no." She chuckled. "Did she tell you about the conversation we had while you were away?" Sean could feel the color drain from his face. "What?" "Relax, I didn't mention that night in grade twelve." She grinned and he shook his head and left her. He went back to his own house and laid his weapons down in his armory. After that, he went up to his room. He walked over to the machine his sister had stolen for him. He put his head inside. Orange skies, brown grass, and sand everywhere. He saw himself enter a building and pull off a breather mask. He sat down and leaned against the wall. He whistled four times and someone walked out of the shadows. "Any food today?" Andrea asked him. "A package of beef jerky." He said back. Sean watched, perplexed, as his alternate self and ex-girlfriend cut out small pieces of jerky and ate them. They fit breather masks on and went into another building. He couldn't help but notice himself keep glancing at Andrea as the went into the next building. When they arrived, they removed their masks, checked to see if the building was clear, and then found a small, out of the way room. As they took off their weapons, Sean quickly pieced together what was going on. A post apocalypse version of their universe, and he and Andrea were the only ones together they could find. He looked around the round, and saw it had once been an office, and the desk was still intact. When the two alternates had finished taking off their weapons, he saw what was coming next and quickly pulled out of the machine. He then went into a troubled sleep. When he woke up he slipped on all of his weapons, as he planned on going and training that day. He went over to the training area and pulled out his two desert eagles. He quickly ran a course, shooting away all training drones. Then he ran a course with his saber, and then with his crossbow. Once he had finished, he noticed someone watching from the door. He pulled his arrow out of a drone's head and looked over. It was Elle. "Hey. Am I keeping you from training?" "No, just watching." She said and gestured for him to continue. He finished off training and let her have the area. He went to the door and watched himself. She was fighting some sort of brutish robot. She jumped, ducked, and wove around it, slashing at it with her weapons with each dodge. Wow. Someone's improved. Sean reflected as she fought it. He couldn't help but notice how limber she was while fighting it... He tapped his head against the wall, keeping his thoughts from running too wild. Chapter 4: Pirates and Cyborgs Elle finished her training, successfully beating another EoTK Dark Hunter Look-Alike. This one based on the previous's partner. Finally, once the robot was defeated, she left the training area, seeing that Sean had already gone. Suddenly, a gruff, accented voice said, "Ah, Elle, good ta see ya!" She looked and saw who it was. "Oh, Mr. Gibbs. What're you doing here?" "The crew and I are just here ta resupply, and I supposed I wanted to say hello. So, how are ya holdin' up?" "Pretty good, I guess. The scar still bugs me every once in a while. Sometimes, it still feels like it was just split open." "Aye, I heard o' that. Well, if it makes ye feel any better, some of da crew, they be hearing that Nes be concentrating outside o' da galaxy. Mean ye and ye mum be safe, for now..." "I guess that's good," Elle said, "Of course how long his attention is turned away from me and mom, I'm certain won't be long. One thing I've learned about psychopaths: they don't abandon their obsessions for long..." "Ye...that be true too...well, at least ye not need to worry abou' 'im for a while. Tha' means if I get any good artifact locations for ye, you can finally go aft'r 'em." Elle nodded. "Yes, that's true. See you around Mr. Gibbs." "See ya around, lass," Joshamee Gibbs responded, as he departed. Elle continued down the hall. She had begun thinking about Sean again. The first thing that came to her mind was their first meeting in the Hellcat Squadran Medical Labs. He'd been shot by Lexus, who thought he was one of those viral zombies the team was fighting at the time. She had a brief chat with him, where he offered to give her survival tips, seeing as she hadn't completed survival training yet (and she still hasn't gone through it yet). That was also the incident that forced him to lose his Elemental Powers, while gaining Force Powers. Since then, she and her mother were helping train him in using it. Then, just last year, he helped stop some natives on some unknown planet from...'sacrificing' her. She shivered at the thought of what almost happened to her. She also remembered how it was soon after that Sean was forced to kill his father, who Elle believed seemed to care more about his kids following some whacked-out 'tradition' than he actually cared about his children themselves. Sean's life seemed to be hard, while Elle's...She almost felt guilty over how well her life had been over Sean's, even with Elle's father having died before she was born. Suddenly, she was shaken out of her thoughts by a tapping. She looked around quickly, and saw nothing. The tapping continued, so she moved quickly down the hall. The tapping just became louder, and louder, and louder, and she just walked faster, and faster, until...Suddenly, something bumped into her side, knocking her to the floor. She looked to her right, where the object that bumped her came from, and... "Oh, my apologies, I did not notice you there," Qymaen jai Sheelal, aka 'General Grievous', said, apologetically. Elle realized, to her relief, that the tapping was probably just Qymaen's taloned feet striking the floor. "No, no, I wasn't watching where I was going, my bad. So, where are you heading?" "Ah, Command Center. Need to keep my droids from growing soft by keeping up the in-battle development of their AI. Was heading to the Command Center to see if IceBite managed to secure some aid from the Coalition to test our mettle against." "Hmmm...I see..." Elle responded. In truth, she has no idea what Qymaen's up to...as usual. Suddenly, as Qymaen left, a thundering sounded behind her. Then, a semi-digitized voice said, "Ah, Elle Urec. It is good to see you again." Elle turned around and saw the Cyber Genesis Genetic Hero known as 'Titan'. "Hey, Titan, how are things going? Back here to visit my mom again?" "Actually, no. My systems are actually still at top efficiency. I'm really here to deliver news on the Insurgency's skirmishes against the Darkspore to IceBite. He made an agreement with the Crogenitors to where if the Darkspore threatened any of the planets near to ones under his protection, they were to send one of us to inform him, to allow them to take defensive actions." "What planet is it this time?" Elle asked. She knew a little on the Crogenitor Insurgency's fight against the Darkspore. Although the Darkspore were an active threat in the galaxy, the Crogenitor Insurgency is capable of subduing the threat to the point where the rest of the galaxy can either enjoy peacetime or deal with their own issues. "They are getting awful close to Pulse. And, with re-colonization efforts underway, a Darkspore Invasion is the last thing the world needs." "Well, I hope you guys can stop them. You always do," Elle responded. "See you around, Elle Urec," Titan said, as he departed. Elle continued on, just walking, as her thoughts continuously returned to Sean... Chapter 5: Departure Sean walked aimlessly through the base. He was feeling bored. There was really nothing to do that day. Well, that he hadn't done already. He'd trained in the force, lightsaber combat, practiced with his pistols and crossbow, annoyed his sister, pissed off his ex, accidently shot Ryan's car tire with an arrow (something he luckily escaped from before Ryan left his house) and meditated for three hours. He was bored. Bored, bored, bored. As he walked, he could hear someone coming up behind him. Not knowing who it was, he quickly thought up some way to start a conversation. It would give him something to do. "Hi Sean. What's up?" It was Elle. All ideas were shot out the window. "Hey. I'm wandering the base aimlessly looking for something to do." He decided to go with the completely honest approach. She laughed. "Yeah, I know the feeling. What'd you do today?" "I trained extensively, annoyed Sasha, pissed off Andrea, meditated for three hours and accidentally shot out one of Ryan's car tires." She raised her eyebrows. "Oh, shit, please don't tell him that." He said, genuinely worried. "Oh, don't worry, I won't." She said, smiling. "Well, what'd you do today?" He asked. "I trained briefly and chatted more briefly with a couple old friends, that's all." She said. "And I'm here now, talking to you." "Highlight of the day?" He suggested with a light smile. "Hmmm, not quite." She said. "Shoot, I'll have to work on that." He said, making her laugh again. "Anyway, you hear about the Es-nay out-ay of-ay verse-uniay?" "Ess-nay, I-ay, id-day." She replied. "I guess that gives me and mom some breathing room." "Not to mention me, my arms still split open every now and then." "Yeah, same." Sean was about to bring up a different topic when a loud voice made him start. "Hey there, lass and person I've neva' met." "Oh, Hi Mr. Gibbs." Elle answered the grisly man. "I've just found something I think you might like, lass. There's a old holocron on Mustah-fah. Somewhere buried in a dead volcano." "Thanks, Mr. Gibbs." She said and he left. Sean noticed and certain glow about her as she turned to him. "This is the first one I have an actual chance to go for in years!" She said excitedly. "Hey, I could use help on this one. You want to come along?" Sean could physically feel his heart do a back flip. "I'm in." He answered. "Great! Meet me at hangar seventeen, I just need to ask my mom if I can borrow her ship." He nodded and watched her leave. As he began walking back to his own house, he fist pumped. He took all his weaponry to his room with him and laid them next to his bed to he could be ready to go as fast as possible. The next morning, he set the world record for fastest waking up, showering, getting dressed (which including equipping all of his weapons), eating breakfast, brushing of the teeth, and getting out the door, all of which took him five minutes. He was at Hangar seventeen in six minutes and, to his dismay, no one was there. He did, however, find a note that said: Sean. Meet me in hangar nineteen, I've got a surprise for you. Elle. Sean quickly made his way there and found Elle standing in front of a ship he had never seen before. "Wow. Where did you get that?" "Mom gave it to me. Awesome, huh?" "I'll say. Do I get to fly it?" "Hell no!" "Aw." He joked. She grinned and then noticed someone behind him. He turned and saw Holly and Sasha entering. Sasha took him to the side while Holly talked to Elle. He noticed she appeared to be saying "I know, I know." A lot. "Hey, Sean. Just saying, be careful. The place is a giant volcano, watch yourself." "Thanks, I will." "Ok, you come back alright, go it?" "Yep." They returned to the entry ramp and as they backed on, Holly mouth at Sean "Behave" While moving her hand across her neck, and he noticed Sasha mouthing "Go for it." At Elle. They made their way to the cockpit and Sean sat in the copilot's seat while Elle sat in the pilot's seat and they took off. Well this is certainly better then being bored all day. Sean happily reflected. Chapter 6: The Volcano World, Mustafar Elle's new ship, which her mother let her cristen the Solar Corsair, moved swiftly through Phase Space, faster than most other Coalition Personal Transports. Elle and Sean had looked the ship over, as it moved on autopilot towards Mustafar. The ship included a small storage area which was also equipped with a simplified version of Elle's Sith Relic Enclosure and Analyzation Device (or Sith-R.E.A.D). It also contained a small living quarters (with 4 bunks), a food storage area, a restroom, a small lab, and a small communications center. "This ship is incredible," Sean said, "Your mom can really make a good starship." "Well, the fact that she's a Technomancer does help, I guess," Elle responded. "Yeah, I can see that. First time flying this ship?" Sean responded. Elle answered, "Just got it, like I said, but the controls appear to be similar to what I'm used to." Sean commented, "That's good. So, tell me about Mustafar, I've never been there before." "Well, it's basically a Giant Volcano. The planet's been tugged and pulled by 2 near-by gas giants for so long, its surface is torn apart, revealing lava underneath. When we get there, we'll need to land at one of the Mining Facilities on the planet and head to where the Holocron is on foot." Sean then said, "You know, taking into account that we're walking on a volcano." Elle responded, "Hmmm?" when he didn't continue. Sean then responded, "Nevermind." Elle seemed slightly dispirited when he said that. To keep her spirits up, he asked, "So, how long of a flight are we looking at?" "Maybe another day or so..." Elle responded. "And how do you pass time on long flights?" Sean asked. Elle thought, before responding, "I'm...not really sure...I guess I usually just sit around bored...Yeah, not really exciting, these expeditions, until I reach the destination..." Sean decided to ask, "This your first time going with anyone?" Elle responded, "Well, not the first time...one time, the Genetic Hero Titan accompanied me. However, that's only because the artifact was on Felucia. Mainly to help with the Acklay." "That must have made the ship heavy," Sean joked. Elle answered, "Well, his steps did make it difficult to sleep to and from, but he did share some stories about his battles against the Darkspore. Also, like I said, he was useful in fighting the Acklay on Felucia." "Speaking of stories, you want to hear one about my sister? Don't worry, nothing you'll find disturbing," Sean asked. Elle answered, "Ok, I guess..." "Well, she had been given detention after school by the prinicipal. So at lunch hour, she snuck into the teacher's parking lot, picked the lock into his car, hotwired it, drove down to the local convenience store for a slurpee, ran back to school within lunch hour, and said to the principal: 'Your corvette's gone.' When Sean was finished, Elle asked, slightly shocked, "And she got away with it?" Sean answered, "Yep." Elle then responded, "Well, on the subject of stories, want to hear one I heard about dealing with Natalia, Skar, and a Bacon Cheeseburger?" "Oh, that sounds good..." ---- Elle couldn't sleep. Something about this trip to Mustafar just had her a little too excited. Maybe it was the fact that this was her first Holocron in a couple years. Maybe it's because this is her first expedition using her new ship. Maybe it's because...she was alone with Sean. She'd felt something for Sean for a while, and also felt something in him about her. She never actively investigated it: she didn't want to intrude on his privacy. But, it was strong enough for her to sense. It made her feel all the more attracted to him. It made her feel she could trust him, more than she felt she could before. Elle remembered how her mother told her how she felt about Sen before she began going out with him. Elle realized that her feelings for Sean matched those completely. ---- Sean awoke and found Elle not in her bunk. He looked around for her, until he finally found her asleep in the pilot's seat in the cockpit. He looked out the cockpit, as, suddenly, the starlines outside began to disappear, the ship slowed, and, suddenly, a massive, red planet appeared. An alarm went off, awaking Elle. "Who? What? Where?" she exclaimed, sitting straight up immediately. "Is that Mustafar?" Sean asked, snapping Elle into focus. "Oh...right. Yeah, that's it," she responded. She then said, "I'm switching it to manual. Hold on, I'm taking her in." The Solar Corsair entered the atmosphere of Mustafar. After a moment of turbulence, Sean immediately felt it. "Ah...did the heating system malfunction?! It's getting hot in here." "No, it didn't," Elle answered, equally uncomfortable in the heat, "This is a Lava World after all. It's natural it'd be hot here." "Ok, so now what?" Sean asked. Elle scanned the landscape, before pointing out, "That's the closest mining facility to the Holocron. I'm setting us down there." Elle lowered the Solar Corsair to the landing platform, and soon, the ship had landed. Chapter 7: Oven World The moment he stepped off the ship, Sean was soaked. He was sweating like a waterfall from the heat. Elle stepped off and looked equally uncomfortable. Hell, she looked sticky. If was honest with himself, he really didn't mind that look, though that was something he would never vocalize. He followed her into the docking building, where there was an immediate temperature drop, though it was still hot. Elle went and quickly reserved their platform, and he couldn't help but watch. He had to admit, he wondered if Elle had been born tailored to his attractions. Everything about her, both physically and mentally, made want to throw caution to the lava. But he really didn't want to freak her out and push her away with it. So for now, he was willing to keep quiet. He could try to sense what she was thinking with the force, but in his mind, that was way beyond intrusive. She came back. "What're you thinking so hard on?" She asked with a curious smile. I just know that I am definitely not gay. He thought. "Nothing. Where to?" "A cavern system with the holocron at the end. Not sure how big it is, but it should be fun finding out." She said and they left the building. Once again, the heat wave struck them full force, making Sean's clothes stick to his skin. "Oh, damn." He muttered, getting a curious look from Elle. He noticed she lingered on his clothes sticking to him for a moment before they began walking. Is that a sign? Does it mean anything? God, why don't they dedicate all sciences to figuring out how girls' brains work?! He thought and followed her. It proved to be a rather difficult walk across the non-building ground. There were loose rocks and patches of dirt everywhere, making it hard to not slip and fall into the river below. As they navigated the planet's surface, they didn't take notice of the man watching them from the mining facility. The hooded man quietly observed the two making their way towards the caverns. He finished his Mustafar-made moonshine glass and slowly went to follow them, smiling underneath his hood. When they had finally found the entrance to the cavern, they entered, and once again, the temperature went down considerably. "Thank god, I thought my clothes were gonna be permanently grafted into my skin." Sean said. Elle laughed. What she didn't know was that Sean was being serious, but he wasn't about to reveal that. They slipped through the cavern. "I think the holocron should be at the very end of the cavern system. There's a couple other caverns behind this one that we'll have to go through, but they shouldn't be much trouble." Elle said. The first cavern was quite plain, and very easy to get through. They walked through a small tunnel, and found themselves in a somewhat more perilous cavern. There were openings that went deep into the planet, so they had to be very careful not to fall through them. At the end of this cavern, there was an opening they couldn't go around, so they had to jump it. Both force jumped, but Sean did it with somewhat more force then her, making him crash into the ceiling and fall down next to her. "Ow." He groaned. "You ok?" She asked, bending down next to him. "Am now." he responded. "Hmmm?" "Would, er, this at all be a bad time for me to, er, ah-" He crossed himself. "wangooutwimme?" "What?" he took a deep breath. "Elle, do you want to go out with me?" He said, looking awkward and nervous. Her jaw dropped briefly, and then she spoke again. "Really? S-s-sure!" She exclaimed in a voice that said she was practically waiting for him to ask, but still sounded surprised. His own jaw dropped and he broke out into a wide smile. She held out both hands and helped him up. They went into the next cavern, both babbling awkwardly, trying to make sense of just what they were now doing. Once they were in the next cavern, they saw a greenish-blue light coming from the end of the cavern. "That must be it, then." Sean said. "Yep." She looked at him, grinned and said. "Hell of a first date, huh?" and began making her way across the cavern. He smiled and followed her. They had to avoid a couple cracks in the ground and hop a few stalagmites, but they made it to the other side ok. They approached the Holocron, and Elle observed it for a moment, then quickly pocketed it before anything could happen. She looked at her new boyfriend happily and gave him a lasting hug (Surprising him, but he was not complaining). There was a brief moment of quiet before a resounding clap filled the air, causing them to break apart. The looked at the end of the cavern and saw a lone man walking forwards, cloaked in black, with sinister yellow eyes glowing under his hood. The man was slowly clapping, making it very deliberate. "Congratulations on the holocron, Elle, Sean. Now I have one target and a collateral, as well as a Holocron of my own. For that, I must thank you." Sean swore and his hand went to his lightsaber. Nes Ceru had the shittiest timing. Chapter 8: Aura Storm Nes attacked immediately with Force Lightning, which Elle and Sean barely dodged. While Elle charged up Aura Energy, Sean used the Force to throw several large rocks at Nes. Nes, however, just sliced through them. Elle then released her attack: rather than the sphere she showed Sean earlier, it was a lance of energy. Nes dodged at the last second, but the attack blew a pair of holes in the wall behind them. "Wow, you didn't show me that," Sean exclaimed. "I've been practicing," Elle responded. "So," Nes said, "You've learned a new trick. Heh, this fight might actually be enjoyable." He charged up another Force Lightning attack, and struck Elle, freezing her in place. "Elle!" Sean shouted. He then charged Nes, but Nes easilly knocked him back. However, Elle made a gesture with her hand. A spark of Aura Energy later, Elle was released. "Ah, you've gained power. This WILL be enjoyable," Nes said. He charged, but Sean rammed him in the side. "GAH! I've had enough of you!" he said, and he Force threw Sean into the wall. Nes approached Sean, but Elle got between the 2. "I won't let you hurt him." "Either you're very brave or very foolish. But, no matter, I'll just kill you both." Suddenly, Elle began to charge Aura Energy. A LOT of Aura Energy. Soon, Elle's Aura, an indigo flame, became visible to both Sean and Nes. "What are you doing?" Nes asked suspiciously. Soon, the Aura Energy concentrated in Elle's hands. Then, Elle said to Nes, "I will not let you pass..." Suddenly, the Aura Energy shot to one of her hands, and she discharged it. Out of Elle's hand fired a massive beam of Aura Energy. The sheer force of the discharge obliterated the ceiling above them, and engulfed Nes. For almost half a minute, Elle sustained the beam, until, finally, it dissipated. Elle stood for a moment, before she collapsed in exhaustion. "Elle!" Sean shouted as he rushed to her. As Sean began picking Elle up off the ground, Elle weakly muttered, "That...took...a lot...out of me..." The 2 just looked at each othe for a moment, when, suddenly, they heard something from the dust could. To the duo's horror, they saw a form in the dust. "I must say, I am...disappointed," Nes said, as the dust cleared, "Now, if we're not going to have any more...interruptions..." Nes ignited his lightsaber, and began approaching. Suddenly...WHUMP! A massive blast knocked Nes backwards. "What the...!" Then, those in the chamber looked up, and, on the newly-formed ridge above, appeared a massive, crystalline creature with thick arms. "Hey, Nes," said a voice that sounded like a distorted form of IceBite's, "How's about we make this a fair fight!" Suddenly, Force Lightning appeared...but from the ridge, not from Nes. Nes barely dodged it. "Yeah, why start a party and not invite us?!" said Darth Agonon, whose Aggron was at his side. The massive Iron Armor Pokemon roared, before firing Flash Cannon at Nes. Nes dodged, but was forced to dodged a massive pillar of light as well. "Yes. We've been waiting to serve you Judgement for a WHILE now!" Judge Zargabaath announced. The Judge appeared with his massive greatswords, and escorted by his Gigalith and Escavalier. Gigalith let out a SolarBeam and Escavalier shot out Energy Ball. Both Pokemon Attacks missed, but Nes sensed danger and leapt to the side, as several missiles slammed into the ground where he was. Black Streak swooped in and flipped onto a rock, transforming. "Leave my sister alone!" Black Streak said, replaying recorded messages to say what he meant. Nes then looked up and saw IceBite falling towards him, ready to crush him under arm, and, how IceBite was aimed, he cannot leap towards Elle and Sean without getting crushed. He dodged the attack, but only barely. He then Force Repulsed, slamming IceBite to the ground. However, before he could attack again, Agonon and his Aggron leapt from their perch, as did Zargabaath and his Pokemon. Black Streak then locked on all his weapons on Nes. "Oh, I'll be back. But please, you two get comfy while I'm away." Suddenly, he relased another Force Attack. Suddenly, the ground under them began to weaken. Black Streak then replayed a message he recorded from Soundwave-2. In Soundwave-2's DJ style of speech, Black Streak re-played, "I'm dropping out of this session. I'll be back to check out the final mix." He then transformed and departed, knowing he could not help anyone there. Agonon and Zargabaath called back their Pokemon, then Agonon called out his Magnezone, while Zargabaath sent out his Skarmory. Both lifted off on their Pokemon. IceBite, who recovered, shifted to Crystalline Dragon form. He approached Elle and Sean, but the ground under Elle gave way. Sean grabbed Elle's arm before she could plummet into the lava. Fortunately, IceBite came in and scooped up them both. In the nick of time, the team escaped the collapsing chamber. ---- The Solar Corsair, Agonon's TIE Spinner, Zargabaath's Valfarre Mrk II, IceBite's Hellcat the Saber-Tooth, and Black Streak flew away from Mustafar. Replaying something else Soundwave-2 said, he played, "Heh, some ride, ei?" Elle, still weakly, but recovering, said, "Thanks for the help...I didn't think Nes could be back this soon..." "Relax, Elle," IceBite said, "Hellcat Squadran Intelligence was certain he was outside the galaxy too. I'm just glad we got there when we did." "Yes," Agonon said, "We almost lost you there. However, that explosion and blinding flash of light helped us find you." Sean then asked Elle, "Yeah, what was that anyway?" It was IceBite that answered, "I would guess she used Aura Storm, the most powerful of Aura-based attacks. Our Tank Commander used it only a couple times, and both times, he too was reduced to an extremely-exhausted state." "Aura Storm, eh?" Sean said, then he said to Elle, "Come on, let's get home." Chapter 9: Telling After they had returned to the planet, Sean and Elle briefly parted ways to go and tell their family and close friends. Sean went to the Boondock HQ to inform his sister and teammates. When he walked in the door, Sasha immediately yelled "What'd you do? You've got something to tell us!" Dammit, how does she know? He thought. "Ok, guys, I'm going out with Elle, happy?" He was quickly swarmed by Daryl, Tony, Ian, and Shane, who quickly began handing out tips and advice. When they left, Lena walked up. "I specifically told you to tell me via wireless immediately if you ever got lucky! Dammit, Sean, other then kill people I can't trust you to do anything!" She said jokingly. Leandra was just laughing as though she had seen it coming, as was Andrea, who yelled "And about time, too!" Sasha walked over to her brother, put her hand on his shoulder, and said "If you ever do something nasty to her, I'll cut your balls off." "Noted." Sean said, knowing she was telling the truth. "Also, don't come to me for help if she's pissed at you." Sean nodded again. Him telling them went much easier then he thought it would have. ---- Elle quickly found her mother and walked over. She took a deep breath and opened her mouth, but before she could say anything, Holly interrupted. "I think I already know what you're going to say. I can't say I'm surprised by it though. I've noticed you and Sean getting closer for a while now, I knew it was a matter of time. Tory seemed to find it difficult to let me go when I fell for Sen, so I already think it'd be better to just let you go where you want. Sean's a good person, so I think you found a good match." Elle nodded slowly, taken aback by the sudden monologue. "Thanks, mom..." She left. Sasha wandered the base now. Sean had went off to let other people know before finding Elle again. On her walk, she bumped into IceBite. "Hello. You hear about your brother?" "How'd you know?" "I had it figured out well before they did." "You been stalking them?" Sasha joked. They left each other and she, now bored, climbed the Ferran Clan's house and lit a cigarette on their roof. She sat there for a few hours, where she got lost in thought. She'd probably never find anyone, so it was likely their family's future was in Sean's hands. She smiled at the thought of her little brother being happy with someone. If anyone deserved happiness, it was him. She sure as shit didn't, not with what she'd done in the past. Sure it was necessary, but not something that was going to give her any sense of peace and deserving. She noticed Sean and Elle walking down the street, both smiling and talking quietly. She smiled at the sight of them. She certainly hoped Holly approved of Sean, because he wasn't going anywhere. She watched them go by and stood up. Unfortunately, she slipped and landed hard on the roof. Ryan came out, having heard the noise. "So, whatcha doing up here?" He called up. "Smoking and relecting on my family's future. You hear about Sean and Elle?" "Yep. Odd pair, those two." "Why so?" She asked. "Goody goody Elle and Sir Redneck. What's not odd about that?" "Good point." She said, laughing. Korra exited the house and looked up. "Er, why the hell is Sasha on the roof?" "I honestly don't know." Ryan answered. "Hey Sasha, you hear about your brother?" Korra asked. "His new girlfriend? Yep." Korra seemed indifferent, and went back inside. "We'll I'd like it if you could get off my house before midnight. OK?" "No problem, Ryan." Sasha answered and Ryan went inside. She sat on the roof for another hour before leaving. As she walked back to her own place, she wondered what Holly thought of the new relationship. Chapter 10: Scratching the Surface A few days after Elle and Sean returned from Mustafar, Sean visited the Urec household. It was Holly that answered the door. "Oh, Sean, I take it you're here to see Elle." Sean responded, "Well, yeah...is something wrong?" He seemed a little nervous. Holly answered, "Oh, no, no, she's still fiddling with that Holocron you 2 recovered from Mustafar." "I see. Well, how are you?" Sean asked Holly. He was trying to stay on Holly's good side. Holly responded, "I'm doing ok. Just a little nervous after figuring out Nes hadn't left like we thought..." Sean responded, "Well, it sounded like he wanted us to get lazy, meaning he may only attack again after a while." Then, Elle shouted down from her room, "Is that Sean? Just send him up!" Holly then told Sean, "Sounds like Elle knows you're here." "Yeah, I'd better head up," Sean responded. Once he got up to Elle room, he found her manipulating a device with the Holocron in the center. Seeing Elle so engrossed in what she's doing, Sean said, "I'm going to have to get you out of this thing one of these days." Without looking up from the Holocron, Elle said, "I'm still trying to figure out what's in this Holocron. I've managed to decypher that it's a Jedi Holocron from...say...around 3900 BBY, give or take a century." Sean responded, "You know that the brain works better after it's had a break? Especially after working continuously for a few days on end?" Elle sighed, and said, "I know, I know, but I think I'm close to unlocking the thing. Should not be long now..." Sean replied, "Say, maybe ten more min-?" Sean's statement was left unfinished, as, suddenly, the Holocron activated. The aparatus it was in began downloading the information and put the basics on a small holo-screen that spawned. Sean then said, looking at the screen, "Well, seeing as I don't read whatever this says, can you translate?" Elle was already reading the ancient script. Suddenly, her face lightened up. "No way...this Holocron was made by the Jedi Master Vodo-Siosk Baas a year before his death..." "Who?" Sean asked. Elle almost forgot he wasn't as versed in Jedi Lore as she was. "A Jedi Master from almost 4000 years ago. Researching this particular Jedi Master has become somewhat of a pass-time of mine...See that broken staff there?" She pointed at a broken staff among her collection of artifacts. Confused, Sean responded, "Yes...?" Elle answered excitedly, "That was Master Baas's main piece of equipment." Sean asked incredulously, "Instead of a lightsaber?" "Yes," Elle responded, "In fact, from my research, there's a quote Baas said, describing his staff once: 'Through the Force I can make my simple staff more powerful than any lightsaber.'" Sean said, "In that case, I'm quite glad it's broken." Elle said sadly, "Well, not really, it was broken when he dueled his fallen apprentice, Exar Kun, one final time. That was when Exar Kun revealed the nature of his double-bladed lightsaber. In one stroke, he shattered the staff and killed Baas." Sean, seeing the story of Vodo-Siosk Baas's death was depressing Elle, said, "Ok, maybe we should go do something other then learn about depressing ancient force stories for a few hours?" "Well, what'd you have in mind?" Elle asked. Sean replied, "Anything, really." After seeing that Elle had no idea what to do, other than recide old pieces of Jedi and Sith Lore, he suggested, "Hey, er, Just a thought. Maybe we could turn one of my solo month hunts into a dual act?" Elle smiled at that thought. "Sounds alright with me." ---- IceBite watched as both Sean and Elle left for the forests surrounding Kaven Base. Next to him was Holly and Sasha, both more than a little nervous. "Are you sure they'll be alright?" Holly asked, "With Nes back..." "The word I have spreading is that the duo have heard of an Ancient Jedi's Cloak being found in the Groxlands. The minute Nes hears that, he'll be heading to the center of the galaxy faster than Raptrus at the heals of a Nod Spy," IceBite responded, "Come on, you two, you worry too much." "I just don't want to end up finding my brother's head on a pike," Sasha commented. "Really, IceBite," Holly commented, "You seem to have changed. Ever since you destroyed Tartorus, you've been much more...non-chalant about things." "And ever since you had Elle, you've been turning over every pebble as though there were a King Cobra underneath it. You just need to have a little faith in your daughter. And Sasha, you need a little more faith in your brother." "I do! It's just..." Holly began, but she stopped. "Hmmm?" "Nothing...you're right, I am worrying too much. I guess she isn't staying home forever," Holly sighed "I'm more worried about what should happen if Nes doesn't take the bait," Sasha explained. IceBite nodded, and said, "We're using his own plan against him. He gave false information so he could follow Elle to Mustafar, we're giving him false information to give Elle and Sean some breathing room." Then, he re-entered the base. "Where are you going," Holly asked. IceBite looked at Holly and responded, "I have a date with May tonight, I just hope that another war doesn't spark like so many other times I've tried this..." As IceBite entered the base, Sasha asked Holly, "How many times has that actually happened?" "You have NO idea..." Characters User:IceBite's Planned/Revealed Characters *Elle Urec (Main) *Holly *Joshamee Gibbs *Qymaen jai Sheelal *Titan *Onua *Kopaka *Leinad Llehctim *Darth Agonon *Judge Zargabaath *Black Streak User:Odst grievous's Planned/Revealed Characters *Sean Renner (Main) *Sasha Renner *Andrea Colman *Leandra Mersia *Lena Trearty *Tony Buchanan *Ian Bauer *Daryl Walsh *Shane Ortiz *Nes Ceru Category:Stories Category:Tandem Stories